Keystone Magazine - Page 18

Interview
Q:
Q:
Language is not a subject matter at Keystone. Students
have to learn through real life experience and real context.
Foreign language instruction, in general, is based on textbooks,
which makes it very limited. But this is not how we learn
language. We have to learn language in a more natural setting.
The vocabulary a student learns and his or her ability to correctly
use that vocabulary improves because you are using it in different
contexts. When teachers are planning or delivering a lesson, they
should be mindful that class is also language-learning time.
A:
You have said that “each teacher is a language
teacher.” Can you explain what this means?
A:
Collaboration between teachers is important because integrated
learning will happen when all teachers are communicating with
each other about the content of their respective subject matters.
During these conversations, teachers will learn to not only look
at content knowledge, but also think and talk about how they can
deliver the content effectively with the goals of teaching language.
This is very different than if teachers are expected to teach a
foreign language as a subject.
Mary Jew speaking at Keystone’s
Education Salon in Guangzhou
When you talk about recruiting teachers you
emphasize that while having excellent teachers
is important, training is perhaps even more critical.
Can you explain your reasoning for placing such a
strong emphasis on training?
The standards that we have for our teachers are aligned
with those in the U.S., Australia, and the UK. Keystone
will provide a lot of professional development because we
understand, through own experiences as educators, that there is
a direct correlation between how well we prepare our teachers and
student learning outcomes. And research confirms this. Teaching
is a profession that requires its professionals to be regularly recertified. Technology changes so rapidly, and the number of tools
available to teach is increasing. So we cannot afford to teach the
same way we did 10 years ago. And we should regularly consider
using new tools to teach. Teaching, learning and how students
learn is very different than even five years ago. Professional
development will be an ongoing process at Keystone, whether
conducted internally or externally, or through regular exchange
with professionals.
Q:
If a student is using Chinese 50% of the time
at school and then goes home to a Chinesespeaking environment, for example, then how can
Keystone ensure that this student’s English language
abilities reach native-level proficiency?
A:
We will emphasize time, resource management, and
quality control. You cannot assume that language
acquisition results will necessarily be better if 100% of the
day is taught in one language or is spent teaching language.
There are many variables involved. Every one of our teachers
will be trained to be a language teacher, so not only will they
be very conscientious about each student’s acquisition of
the target language, but they will have the necessary tools
to manage students, class time and their resources, and use
differentiation to maximize student learning outcomes. This
will not be a problem.
There are also many different ways that students can practice
English outside of school time. But we will be intentional
to ensure that the time and method in which the student is
learning English is appropriate. We will not recommend that
parents, for example, speak to their children in English at
home, unless English is their native language. We do not even
suggest that parents are the best role model for their native
language. The tendency in both of these cases is for children to
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The Keystone Magazine